Lineup announced for 30th year of Great Decisions Lecture Series at St. Norbert College

Great Decisions is a nationwide program meant to bring together local, regional and national experts in an eight-week lecture series discussing international issues of interest to the community. St. Norbert College is hosting the public event for its 30th year in northeastern Wisconsin.

Topics for the series are selected by the Foreign Policy Association of America and are intended to provide a local forum for discussion on current political and economic issues of the day. The speakers themselves are selected by participating colleges and universities. St. Norbert College is one of only two schools in Wisconsin that present the entire series. (UW-Milwaukee is the other.)

Following are the topics and speakers for 2012. All lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday evenings, in the Fort Howard Theater at the F. K. Bemis International Center on the St. Norbert campus.

February 15: "PROMOTING DEMOCRACY" -- Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy, University of Kentucky. Ambassador Cavanaugh is one of those unique individuals who though officially retired is still directly involved in the issues surrounding the Russian and Georgian conflict that dominates that region of the world. The potential for confrontation between the US and other major powers makes the ambassador's views particularly relevant in today's world.

February 22: "STATE OF OCEANS IN THE WORLD" -- Dr. David Poister, professor of chemistry and environmental science, St. Norbert College. Poister studies the oceans of the world as our most precious resources. He has a facility for explaining the complexities of the threats to the world's water resources in terms that everyone can understand.

February 29: "MEXICO, THE DRUG CARTELS AND THE EFFECTS IN THE US" -- Dr. Matthew Dalstrom, professor of anthropology, Rockford College. Relatively new to academia, Dalstrom specializes in Mexico and the issues of illegal drugs.

March 7: "EXIT STRATEGIES FOR IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN" -- Dr. Steven Metz, chairman of the regional strategy department, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College. Metz is an expert on US strategy and as such will offer his views on the strategic options for the United States as it prepares to exit both Iraq and Afghanistan.

March 21: "ENERGY GEOPOLITICS" -- Dr. Mark Bockenhauer, professor of geography, and Dr. Wendy Scattergood, assistant professor of political science, St. Norbert College. Bockenhauer and Scattergood will combine their respective expertise on Geography and World Politics to create a picture of how energy plays such a key role in our world and in the world of the future.

March 28: "CYBER-SECURITY AND THE THREAT" -- Mr. Jeffery Carr, CEO and author of "Inside Cyber Warfare." Carr is a well-known authority on cyber-security, having authored a book on the subject and served on the President's Expert Panel for Cyber-security. He will explain the threat in terms that are both understandable and frightening.

April 4: "INDONESIA" -- Dr. Donald Weatherbee, professor emeritus, University of South Carolina. Weatherbee is considered the nation's top expert on Indonesia. He will seek to explain the complex balance in that country between a secular government and one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. His exploration of fascinating politics of that important, but often forgotten, country should prove to be extremely interesting.

April 11: "UNLEARNING RACIALISM: CONFRONTING APARTHEID IN OUR HEARTS" -- Mr. Sean Callaghan, lead consultant at Strategic Impact. Presented in conjunction with the Miller Lecture Series in Public Understanding, Callaghan will present on his thirty years of experience from the battlefields of Africa to conflict resolution in Iraq. He will share how he has worked for sustainable peace and justice not only in his native South Africa, but across the world.

April 18: "MIDDLE EAST REALIGNMENT" -- Mr. Rami George Khouri, director of the Institute for Public Policy, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Mr. Khouri is an internationally syndicated columnist, who regularly appears on NPR, CNN, and BBC. His years of experience as a journalist covering the Middle East make him an ideal speaker for this topic.

An advance subscription for the entire series is available for $50 per person. Subscription includes admission to all eight lectures and a copy of the Great Decisions briefing book. The briefing book includes background information on the lecture topics and access to the association's website, www.fpa.org, for resources, guides to topics and online discussion forums. Admission to individual sessions is also available for $5 at the door, and briefing books are available for $15.